Many Think AIDS Vaccine Here, But Kept Secret

From CDC National Prevention Information Network

May 29, 2003

A full 20 percent of American adults mistakenly believe that
a vaccine for HIV/AIDS already exists but is being kept from the
public, according to a new government study. Ignorance of the
slow rate of progress in the development of an AIDS vaccine is
rampant among US citizens, the survey finds, and is especially
high among black and Hispanic populations, which have been hit
hardest by the disease. The survey of 3,500 individuals was
conducted by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious
Diseases.

According to the survey, 84 percent of Americans rate
HIV/AIDS vaccine research as either "extremely" or "very"
important. This number is even higher among minority populations
at highest risk for HIV, with 96 percent of black Americans and
94 percent of Hispanics agreeing that the quest for a vaccine is
of paramount importance. However, many also believe that a
vaccine already exists but is being kept "secret" from patients
and the general public. One in five Americans subscribe to this
view, with the number rising to 28 percent and 48 percent of
Hispanic and African-American respondents, respectively.

Among other survey findings:

42 percent of those interviewed did not know that vaccines
require any testing on human volunteers before being made
available to the public.

Nearly a third erroneously believed that prospective vaccines
could cause HIV in human test subjects, while 44 percent were
unsure about such dangers. Such misconceptions could hamper
recruitment of volunteers for clinical trials, experts say.

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"HIV vaccine research is our best hope, along with other
prevention and treatment efforts, to slow the spread of HIV,"
Fauci stressed in a NIAID statement. Promising vaccine studies
are underway in over 60 research centers in the United States
alone, with more than 12,000 individuals participating in trials
worldwide, according to NIAID.

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